New Providence, N.J. /Publishers Newswire/ — Bowker, the global leader in bibliographic information management solutions, today announced the beta-release of Books In Print® 2.0 (BIP 2.0) an enhanced version of the company’s flagship book discovery and collection development platform, Books in- Print®. The official global market release of BIP 2.0 is scheduled for the early fourth quarter, 2009.
BIP 2.0 is a new dynamic book search and discovery platform that provides librarians, researchers and library patrons with access to the richest set of book information available in the reference market. The platform combines comprehensive content with powerful visual discovery interfaces from AquaBrowser, Bowker’s extremely popular search platform utilized by more than 500 libraries worldwide. The result is a breakthrough offering that enables users to discover relevant book information through a variety of cutting-edge collection development capabilities, including edition-grouped search results (FRBR), “word cloud” search visualization and Web 2.0 tools, such as rating, tagging and other social networking features.
The introduction of BIP 2.0 follows the April 2009 release of the American Library Association (ALA)’s 2009 report, “The State of America’s Libraries,” which cited a Harris Poll from 2008 that reported that 41 percent of library card holders visited their library websites in 2008, compared with 24 percent in 2006. According to the report, 39 percent of card-holders visit the library to borrow books; 12 percent to take out CDs, videos, or computer software; 10 percent to use a computer to view library holdings; 9 percent to use reference materials; and 8 percent to gain Internet access. The product development path for BIP 2.0 tracked with these emerging technology trends, content interests and social networking trends that were seen in all library market segments in recent years.
“The introduction of critical new search and discovery functionality, in addition to the evolving social media research offered by the new interface makes BooksInPrint.com an even more valuable resource for librarians, researchers and patrons,” said Ian Singer, Bowker’s Vice President, Data Services. “Over the coming months, we’ll be working closely with our customers who have agreed to serve as formal BIP 2.0 beta testers and identifying appropriate product enhancements along the way.”
According to Singer, some of the key new features of BIP 2.0 include:
* Relevancy-ranked search and faceted refine options to help users drill into the book information they need as quickly as possible;
* Search results are now grouped by book edition, making result lists easier to go through and the right items or editions much easier to locate;
* New “social library” functionality that allows users to rate, review and tag items.. User-generated content enhances the search and discovery process for patrons by employing user tags as a refine options.
* A new word cloud feature provides users with a starburst of suggested terms, based on various computer-generated word associations from the original search query, or user-generated content. This dynamic word cloud allows users to select from the associations and hone their queries, while also building a discovery trail that offers more relevant results to consider.
“BIP 2.0 feature sets enable librarians and their patrons to discover and share information about books, enabling happy search and discovery accidents that result when that information wasn’t explicitly part of their original search query,” added Singer. “We’ve combined the richest and most diversified online book reference information available in the market with a vastly improved user interface to enhance and improve their discovery experience.”
Bowker will be demonstrating its new Books in Print 2.0 offerings at its booth #4411 and at the ProQuest booth #2826 at the American Library Association’s 2009 Annual Conference and Exhibit Hall, July 11-14, 2009. More information about Books in Print 2.0 and other Bowker information services and solutions for the library market can be accessed at http://www.bowker.com/ala2009/info.htm.
About Bowker
Bowker is the world’s leading source for bibliographic information. The company provides searching, analytical, promotional, and ordering services to publishers, booksellers, libraries, and patrons through national and international brands, including: Books In Print®, Global Books In Print®, Syndetic Solutions™, Pubnet®, PubEasy®, PubTrack™, AquaBrowser®, and more. In the U.S., Australia and Puerto Rico, Bowker is also the exclusive ISBN and SAN Agency and a DOI registration agency for the publishing industry. Bowker is headquartered in New Providence, New Jersey, with operations in East Grinstead, England, and Melbourne, Australia. For more company details, please visit www.Bowker.com.
